Children travelling alone

If your child needs to travel alone for some reason, don’t worry
– we’ll make sure their flight goes smoothly.

We’re happy to accept unaccompanied children on flights from the age of five up to 15 – and it goes without saying we’ll ensure they’re OK throughout their journey. Just let us know they’ll be unaccompanied by following the process outlined below.

Please note:

The parent/guardian of the travelling child must stay at the airport until the child's flight has departed

Children under five must always travel with someone aged 16 or over – we cannot fly them on their own

Organising a flight for an unaccompanied child

Request the Unaccompanied Minor service when you book. You can do this directly with our reservations team or through a travel agent, but not online. Unfortunately we can’t accept a child travelling alone unless they are registered for this service in advance.

If the child has any special needs or medical conditions, please be sure to let us know at the time you book.

Complete and sign the Declaration of Indemnity form we’ll send you. One part of the form should be returned to the UK Special Assistance Department, with the remainder presented at check in on the day of departure. If the form is not completed and signed we won’t be able to accept the child for lone travel.

Check whether your child will need any visas or documentation for their destination, and organise these if necessary.

From check in, we’ll look after the child until we introduce them to a member of our cabin crew.

When the child reaches their destination, another member of Virgin Atlantic staff will take them through immigration and customs and hand them over to the adult noted on the Declaration of Indemnity form. This adult will have to show formal identification before we end our care of your child.

We won't be able to accept the child if:

They are not brought to check in by a parent or guardian.

They arrived from a connecting flight, other than one operated by Virgin Atlantic.

They are travelling on another connecting flight, other than one operated by Virgin Atlantic.

They are not going to be collected from Virgin Atlantic directly by a parent or guardian upon arrival.

The transit time between flights is over four hours, if the flight includes a stop-over or if there are inter-airport connections by road or rail such as between Gatwick or Heathrow.

Extra things to be aware of:

Children travelling alone in Upper Class cannot use the Upper Class lounge or the limo service.